Cover of "The Beatle Bandit", 2022 Heritage Toronto Awards Book nominee. Courtesy of Dundurn Press.
The Beatle Bandit
Author: Nate Hendley
Publisher: Dundurn Press
On July 24, 1964, twenty-four-year-old Matthew Kerry Smith disguised himself with a mask and a Beatle wig, hoisted a semi-automatic rifle, then held up a bank in North York, Ontario. The intelligent but troubled son of a businessman and mentally ill mother, Smith was a navy veteran with a young Indigenous wife and a hazy plan for violent revolution.
Outside the bank, Smith was confronted by Jack Blanc, a former member of the Canadian and Israeli armies, who brandished a revolver. During a wild shootout, Blanc was killed, and Smith escaped — only to become the object of the largest manhunt in the history of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Force. Dubbed “The Beatle Bandit,” Smith was eventually captured, tried, and sentenced to hang. His murderous rampage had tragic consequences for multiple families and fuelled a national debate about the death penalty, gun control, and the insanity defence.
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The Beatle Bandit
About the Author:
Nate Hendly is a Toronto-based freelance writer. He is the author of several books, primarily in the true-crime genre. His book, The Boy on the Bicycle: A Forgotten Case of Wrongful Conviction in Toronto, was a finalist in the Arthur Ellis Awards for excellence in crime writing in 2019 and was long-listed for “The Very Best!” Book Awards 2018 by The Miramichi Reader. Nate also hosts a blog, Crime Story, devoted to crime-related topics.
